i'll make you a promise (watch you dance with your keys)
by tetsuryu
Summary: She cracks her whip across the earth and he thinks he might be in love. —Natsu/Lucy


It's been awhile since he's watched Lucy fight.

By watch, he means sitting down and calmly watching, without the fear that either of their lives were in danger, and without the fear that he wouldn't be fast enough or strong enough to save her. The last time he actually sat back and watched, not being distracted by his own battle, was probably the Grand Magic Games, but then again there had been sinister intentions at every turn and she was never truly out of harm's way.

This time, however, he'd sneakily followed Lucy on a solo mission and hid like a stalker behind the trees as she dealt with the giant troll. He remembered whining and throwing a fit when Lucy refused to let him follow her on a mission that required _actual monster-slaying_. The past solo missions she took were always safe ones, like helping out at the library, or playing with the kids at the orphanage.

"I said _no_ , Natsu. I'm not going to bring you along and let you burn down the entire protected forest. Half the reward will be gone to paying for that!"

"You don't need to pay for fallen trees," he'd grumbled, and she shot him a glare that could rival Ezra's scariest.

So the next day she'd set out bright and early, an eager glint in her eye and an excited spring in her step. He had pouted and sulked. Since when did she like violence? No, since when did she like going on jobs without him?

It doesn't matter anyway, because here he is, crouching behind a particularly thick tree, watching his best friend stare down a troll as big as a hill. He's lucky Happy's hanging out with Carla and Wendy for the day, or he'd never live the teasing down.

The monster glares at her, as if already deciding that she would be its next meal. Lucy simply grins.

"Open, gate of the Giant Crab! Cancer!"

The same time Cancer appears, Lucy's clothes change, and she's wearing her Cancer star dress with twin blades in her hands. She's wearing what looks like a mix of a qipao and a kimono, her hair in two long ponytails.

Natsu gapes.

He doesn't think he's seen her in this form before. It's not revealing like her Taurus form, or extravagant like her Leo form. It's elegant yet functional, and Natsu can't look away.

"Let's give him a few nice cuts, shall we?" Lucy says to Cancer, who nods. They both lunge at immense speed. His eyes are trained on Lucy, watching her spin in mid-air and drive her swords down, delivering painful blows. The troll swipes at her with its big hands, but Lucy is agile and fast and dodges easily.

Of course, he knows that Lucy never lets her spirits fight alone, but this time her approach is so physical and hands-on that he's in awe. She's an amazing fighter. A warrior, just like any member of Fairy Tail.

Lucy is bright, brave, and determined, and much stronger than she gives herself credit for. While she may be no Erza, her will to protect her friends is equally profound and her power is nothing to be trifled with. Despite her outward annoyance and her shrill yelling he knows she's more patient with him that anyone he's ever met. She lets him crash in her home unannounced, deals with the aftermath of his never-ending property destruction, and she always greets him with her warm smile and twinkling brown eyes. And did he mentioned that she smells amazing all the time?

He's never been so attuned with another person. He can't pinpoint the moment he realised Lucy is so much _more_ to him, but despite his overall idiocy this is the one thing he's absolute certain of. Lucy is home.

"That's enough play time, don't you think?" Lucy huffs, sweat dripping down her face and dirt from the ground on her knees, but Natsu doesn't think she's looked sexier.

She pulls out two keys between her fingers.

"Aries! Taurus!"

Cancer disappears, and the familiar sheep girl and perverted cow takes his place.

"Aries, trap him in place! Taurus, distract him."

"Anything for Lucy's perfect body!" Taurus shouts, running at his opponent. Natsu can't help the clench of his fist. Lucy's body is _his_ , damn it.

While Aries throws her wool bombs at him and Taurus parries blow for blow, Lucy's outfit changes again, and she's in her Taurus form, the little pieces of fabric doing nothing to hide her glamorous figure.

Lucy gives a cocky smirk. She cracks her whip across the earth and he thinks he might be in love.

"Earth Wave!"

The forest floor jerks violently and troll falls, trapped in thick wool, receiving hit after hit from the rocks and debris. Even Natsu has to tighten his hold on the tree trunk to prevent from being thrown into the air.

When the dust settles, the troll is on the ground, unmoving. There's a pleased expression on her face.

A few trees were uprooted in Lucy's last attack and the ground is uneven and jagged. He resist the urge to pout. And she didn't want him along because he would've caused damage?!

His annoyance is quickly distracted by how she looks, standing there with pride in her shoulders and power in her hands. She's practically _glowing_ with strength.

She's the most beautiful thing he's ever seen.

"Taurus, help me drag this thing to the village—"

He's about to get up and make his getaway when her voice stops him in his tracks.

"—no, never mind." Lucy spins around, amusement on her face. Their eyes meet. He freezes. "Natsu will do it for me."

.

.

.

"I can't believe you're making me do the hard labour," Natsu whines, dragging the troll behind him. It's tied up with Lucy's whip, and he's holding the handle, pulling the heavy thing along. The image of Lucy swinging her whip confidently flashes through his mind and he licks his lips unconsciously.

"You're the one who stalked me on my job," she rolls her eyes, combing her fingers through her silky hair. She stops in her tracks then, turning to look at him. His breath catches at the way the sunset reflects in her brown irises. He can tell that the little frown on her forehead is less annoyance and more insecurity and hesitation.

"I didn't come because I thought you couldn't handle yourself," Natsu hurries out. He's spent so long staring at her and dissecting her expressions that he knows what every little twitch on her face means.

Her eyes narrow. "I wasn't going to ask you that."

"Liar. I know you too well, Luce."

She huffs. "Okay, why are you here then?"

His grip on the whip slackens, and suddenly those birds flying in the distance are so much more interesting. He's heating up in a way unlike his fire magic. "I—uh—" he swallows. "I…"

Lucy's suddenly all up in his personal space, trying to scrutinise his face. He goes a little cross-eyed as he tries to look at her. "You?" she prompts.

Natsu looks away embarrassedly. "I wanted to watch you fight."

She blinks, straightening. "What?"

"You heard me," he grumbles.

"But… Why?"

He draws in a breath then releases it in a rush. Lucy is looking at him with light confusion in her brown eyes and he _really needs her to stop staring at him like that_. He mumbles something under his breath, and she frowns.

"I don't have dragon slayer hearing, Natsu."

"I _said_ , you look really hot when you fight."

The silence stretches.

Natsu chances a look at her face again. A pretty pink blush dusts her cheeks, and her lips are parted in surprise. When he looks up they meet eyes, and he swallows.

"I—I, uh, thanks…" Lucy finally says, her cheeks becoming redder by the second. He's pretty sure he's not faring any better, if the crazy heat in his ears is any indication.

"You've been training a lot, yeah?" he asks then, venturing into safer territory. He starts walking again, prompting her to fall in step beside him.

"Of course. I want to be able to hold my ground with you guys."

He gives her a weird look. "You're way stronger than just 'holding your ground'."

Surprise flits across her expression, but it quickly makes way for happiness. "Thanks. That means a lot to me."

"Don't gotta thank me, Luce. It's the truth. I don't know why you'd think otherwise. Your magic power's grown so much since we first met."

She hums in reply.

"I think you're the strongest on our team."

"Stronger than even you?" she jokes, nudging him with her elbow.

His nose wrinkles, and she laughs. He sighs. "You know I suck at words. I don't mean you're strong like Gildarts or Gramps, I mean you're strong like… like _you_. You're strong because you're Lucy. The most Lucy out of all of us."

She laughs again, much brighter this time. "I think I get what you're trying to say. 'Lucy' like an adjective, not a noun?"

He nods fervently. "Exactly!"

Lucy's not looking at him, but the smile on her face is so wide he feels his chest warm up. Her voice is soft when she says, "thank you, Natsu."

They walk in comfortable silence for awhile longer. There's an urge rising in Natsu—one that's screaming at him to tell her his feelings. His impatient dragon nature can only take so much more one-sided pining.

He clears his throat awkwardly. "Lucy, I think I li—I think you shouldn't take solo missions anymore."

Immediately her brows furrow angrily. "Why not?"

He draws in a breath then releases it in a huff. There's no one he's more annoyed with at the moment than himself. He takes another breath.

"I… don't like it when we're apart."

She blinks. Red flushes through her cheeks at the implication. "What do you mean?"

"You know what I mean," he glares at her half heartedly.

"No, I really don't," she bites her lip to stop herself from smiling.

"I want to be next to you all the time, okay?" he tells her, forcing himself to look her in the eye. "I want to be with you. It's always more fun when we're together."

Her blush deepens, but her lips are twisting into a smirk. "That's a very roundabout way of confessing to someone."

Natsu frowns. She's teasing him. He releases his hold on the whip. Drawing a determined breath, he marches the short distance between them. The smile drops from her face and her eyes widen. Natsu moves his face closer, and _closer_ , until he feels their noses touch.

He puts a hand on top of her head and closes his eyes, pressing his forehead against hers. It reminds him of the time he did it to future Lucy because she had seen so much loss in her time and was still so determined to save their future. And also because he was too chicken to do it to his Lucy then.

"What—what are you doing?" Lucy whispers.

"This is a dragon's way of making a promise."

"A promise?"

"Commitment," he says, voice low. "I'll be by your side forever."

For a moment she's stunned, then a watery smile stretches from cheek to cheek. "You can't do anything normally, can you?"

He pulls away, staring into her brown eyes with the same intensity of his flames.

Lucy's hands make their way to his cheeks. She stretches up and presses her lips to his in a firm kiss. He can hear his heart _pounding_ in his ears. She moves away earlier than he would've liked and smiles contentedly.

"And this is my human way of making the same promise."

Natsu's arms slide to wrap around her waist, pulling her flush against him. He looks searchingly in her eyes, then gives a toothy smirk. "I'm human too, you know."

And he slants his mouth overs, deepening his kiss with intention and giving her his word once again. Her arms immediately come around his neck. Her lips are soft as they move against his.

He can taste her on his lips; he can hear her heartbeat speeding up and; he can smell her intoxicating flowery scent. All his senses are _Lucy_ , and he's never felt more complete.

When they pull apart, breathless, she laughs his favourite laugh, the sound like liquid sunshine coursing through his veins. "I've been waiting so long to do that."

He grins, fangs showing, leaning in for another kiss. "Then let's do it again."

"Mm," she murmurs against his lips, "maybe I should get into fights more often."

The thought of seeing her fight sends fire coursing through his veins, and he tightens his grip around her waist.

"As long as I get to watch."


End file.
